


All the Laughs We Had in the Past

by xxoceanswavesxx



Series: The One to Make It Stay [6]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akumatized Chloé Bourgeois, But still doesn't show up, F/M, Kitty Section, Lila is mentioned, Lukanette, Miracle Queen's powers have been changed, ch. 2 is the most stressful thing in this story i've written, ml au, ml s3 au, ml salt, ml salt au, slight backstory change for Fu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-01 07:17:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21434452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxoceanswavesxx/pseuds/xxoceanswavesxx
Summary: Marinette returns home from Summer Sesh with a major revelation. Unfortunately, the surprises won't cease as certain cruelty and betrayal results in making major changes and facing two wrathful akumas.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: The One to Make It Stay [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1404121
Comments: 83
Kudos: 843





	1. I Remember When Things Were Easier

“ _ I know it hurts to see that in the end they sympathized with me, and though it hurts to say, it couldn't happen any other way. _ ” - (Etheriel by Lush)

_ —- _

For nearly a year, Marinette weighed decisions regarding her personal and superhero lives on a daily basis.  _ What should I wear to school today? Should I try this contest or activity out? What should I say to Adrien? Should I even bother with Chloe today? How am I going to study for this test when Hawkmoth keeps sending out akumas? Why does Chat Noir seem so different lately?  _

_ Can I trust Alya? Is she acting this way because of Lila, or is there something else…? Why is it so hard for me to let go? _

The swarm of questions do nothing to soothe her anxiety. Even with Fu’s patient expression, she finds herself on edge.

“It’s just, um,” she sighs, “I heard that Alya put the Ladyblog on hiatus, but there doesn’t appear to be a given reason  _ why _ . I don’t know if I should take that as a sign of change or her just running away from her mistakes. And I told her as Marinette that I wanted space until the end of summer, which leaves-”

“Talking to her as Ladybug.”

She nods. “But I still haven’t decided whether or not I want to keep her, and I don’t want her pressuring me into a decision, or feeling like I have to make it then and there. Maybe…” She bites her lip. “Maybe my personal feelings are getting in the way of making this decision.”

“She’s someone that you care for quite a bit,” Fu points out, “Even though she hurt you. I had that happen back in my beginning days as a Guardian. I suppose now would be the time to tell you of my mistake, many years ago, if you’re alright with lending an ear.”

When she nods her head, he cues her to take a seat at the table as he prepares a fresh pot of tea. He even finishes some cookies, much to Tikki’s delight. Before Marinette can even grab one, Tikki is happily scarfing down  _ two _ . Marinette can’t help but tease her a bit, which causes the kwami to gleefully fly away from the table and sit with Wayyz, who seems a bit weary and tired. She can only imagine that Wayyz has heard this story countless times by now.

"I was about your age when I was called upon to join the Order of the Guardians," he begins, pouring the tea into her cup. "I had some idea of its existence prior to that, but it was treated as legend and myth. Heroes blessed with spirits to watch and protect over the people. But I never expected to them to exist, let alone be recruited to become one."

"So the Guardians weren't completely unknown to the rest of society?"

"Not necessarily. But those of us who were part of the Order had to keep it a secret. Even my family couldn't fully learn of what I got involved with, because they could have been targeted. They assumed I had been selected for a great honor and I had to let them believe it."

"And did they force you to join?"

"Force? No. Greatly pressure..." he sighs, taking a sip of his tea, "Those who joined brought great honor to their families. It would have been very difficult to say no. I had been greatly curious, and agreed, not entirely realizing what I had gotten myself into. I'm not unaware of how it's not entirely dissimilar to how you were chosen. I regret being so hands-off at first because I realize proper guidance would have kept things from escalating to this point."

She can't help but sip her tea in response, not sure what to say in response. She doesn't want to admit that she's just the tiniest bit bitter about how things were handled and that proper guidance might have kept Chat in check, and actually keep him a team player. It's not that she doesn't understand Fu's reasons and that he was desperate for someone to stop Hawkmoth. But recalling her first day as Ladybug and how she nearly gave up the miraculous, she wishes that Fu would have done something sooner.

As if sensing her thoughts, Fu also takes a sip of his tea, and a cookie for good measure. The room is almost painfully silent, the only sound being Tikki's slowed chewing of her cookies.

"Of course, I wasn't the only one chosen to become a Guardian or wielder of a miraculous. Plenty of other boys my age were selected and trained for the next generation. I fared well with most of them, but one in particular was my best friend. For simplicity's sake, I'll refer to him as Bo."

"Simplicity's sake?"

"It's a bit complicated. When we were chosen, we were given new names within the Order to protect our identities. I don't recall his proper name, but he insisted on me calling him Bo in more casual settings.

“Anyway, Bo and I were practically inseparable. We shared a room together, studied together, exercised together… it was no surprise when the Guardians decided to make us partners, though I think there were some other reasons there. Bo, you see, was a bit of a troublemaker. He was perfect for the monkey miraculous, but it also meant that he got in over his head time after time. Often, I was the one to get him out of trouble. It was why  _ I  _ was selected to become a Guardian, but he was only a holder. But he landed me in a bout of trouble that I didn’t expect.”

Aware of her fingers wrapping around the cup, Marinette stares down at her hand. Certainly, this scenario sounded familiar to her. How many times had she and Alya gotten into schemes way in over their heads? Granted, they weren’t using the miraculouses, but she could only imagine how things could escalate.

“For as long as we have been around, the Guardians of the Miraculous have always had enemies, mainly those who wanted the miraculous for themselves. And if we had to learn how to blend into the shadows, they would have to learn how to do it better. More importantly, they had to know how to lure  _ us  _ out.”

_ Like a moth to the flame,  _ she contemplates.  _ Or more accurately, Hawkmoth to the miraculouses, and us to his akumas _ . 

“I never expected Bo to be one of those people. And there were signs that, in hindsight, were clear red flags. Needless to say, I ended up having to fight him, especially after he stole the butterfly. He told me that we could leave the Order, keep the miraculouses for ourselves, and be gods. Of course, I turned him down, and that escalated into a fight. During that fight, the peafowl was damaged, and I had no choice but to leave it behind with one of my mentors to have it repaired. They were supposed to take it to me after it was fixed, but they never came, and the peafowl was also lost.”

_ Just like that, huh _ ? Not sure what to say to any of that, Marinette finishes her tea, and stares down at the empty cup below her. Alya had been  _ curious  _ enough over the miraculous, but wouldn’t anyone? No, the qualifying question was if Alya would betray Ladybug to obtain or publish sensitive information regarding the miraculous. 

Alya  _ had  _ been reckless the last time they met, and Marinette couldn’t exactly forget the fallout from posting that article. Chat was a lingering reminder of that, and that wasn’t likely to change anytime soon.

But she still needs to know the reasoning behind the Ladyblog’s hiatus. Alya could have been planning something for all she knew, and she needs to know what before things escalate any further.

“You still have doubts,” Fu says, not as a question, but with absolute certainty. There’s something about her face that always tends to give some of what she’s thinking away. Perhaps that’s why Luka was so in tune with her.

“I mean, I  _ did  _ say I’d contemplate the decision over summer break,” she points out, “But maybe I went in thinking that it would be an easier decision to make. Part of me  _ wants  _ Alya to stay, to show me that she’s still the best friend I’ve had since the beginning of the school year. But I can’t forget how she edited that footage of Chat’s confession and how she wrote off my feelings as Marinette, either. But then,  _ what if  _ she’s changed over the one month I’ve been gone and…” she sighs, her head hitting the table. “What if I’m just being too hopeful over this? I mean, I had no problems setting boundaries before, and I have a team of people willing to fight with me now, so why am I hesitating?”

“A lot has changed since the summer started,” Fu points out, “And rather quickly. Part of you wants to go back to what’s familiar and reconcile it with the new parts of your life. I don’t blame you. I’m very wary of Rena Rouge and her actions, as well as Carapace’s  _ lack  _ of action regarding the situation. Perhaps a different set of eyes and ears, as well as some guidance might be needed to make this an easier decision. Hmm…” he hums, staring down at his cup of tea, “Why don’t you pay our friend a visit and tell me the impression you’re getting off of her later? We can discuss further action after that.”

“Like cutting her from the team?”

“That would be  _ an  _ option,” he says, “Depending on how things are, though, you might have other options. 

With that thought in mind, she slowly stands up, and walks toward the door. It takes Tikki a moment to realize what she’s up to before she goes flying behind her.

“One more thing before you go,” Fu says, “Would you mind if I borrowed Tikki for a moment? I need one more thing before the ritual.”

Chipper as ever, Tikki follows Fu across the room, fascinated as he holds up a vial, and pours some of the liquid up near the top. Touching it, she glows pink for a moment before removing her hand and Fu caps the bottle once again.

“Thank you. All I have to do now is to prepare the feast.”

“The feast?”

“Yes. The elixir I’ve conducted has the powers of three kwamis: Tikki, Trixx and Wayzz. However, it cannot be directly consumed to achieve the effect we’re looking for. Instead, we have to mix it into food and consume it over an elaborate meal. With the elixir done now, I should be able to focus on making the food, though I’m worried I won’t be able to do it alone.”

“Depending on what you need, I can help,” she volunteers, “I’m sure if I asked Luka, he wouldn’t mind either.”

“I haven’t entirely decided on the menu yet, but it seems like we’ll need some bread, and some sort of dessert,” he says, “Thank you, Marinette. I’ll get back to you on that once I’ve finalized things. For now, why don’t check in on Rena?”

\----

So much changed in the past month. Ladybug gained four new members of the team, hadn’t held a proper conversation with Chat Noir in weeks, and faced only three akumas in total. But most importantly, neither Ladybug nor Marinette headed toward the Cesaire apartment since the previous confrontation, and the fate of their friendship still hung in the balance. 

Peeking through the window, she can see Alya sitting at her desk, expression difficult to read.  _ Here goes nothing _ , she thinks to herself quietly. Tapping on the glass makes her jump, eyes widening at the sight. Pulling open the door, she’s quick to ask, “Ladybug?”

“I’d like to talk with you. May I come in?”

Alya hesitates for a moment, a rare sight to behold, but does eventually allow Ladybug in through the window. At first, Ladybug remarks to herself how her room hadn’t changed much from last time, until she spots the collage on the wall. The few photos of Lila that hung proudly had been ripped down, along with the photos of Marinette.  _ That _ was rather curious to her. However, she doesn’t have time to waste worrying about Alya’s social life for now.

“I’m going to get straight to the point. I wanted to check in on you after our last conversation. How have you been doing?”

Alya’s eyes widen at this, as if she hadn’t considered the possibility. Considering how she blew Marinette’s break out of proportion, Ladybug has reasons to consider that she also threw their previous confrontation out of proportion. 

“I…” she bites her lip. “I want to apologize.”

Now it’s  _ her  _ turn to gape. She’s not even sure  _ how  _ to feel about the sudden

“I guess I should explain myself a bit,” she sighs, “Um, if you want, you can sit down. It’s… I’ve had a lot on my mind and I went through a lot since we last met. I guess I should start from the beginning.”

It takes Alya a moment to begin her story, and Ladybug finds herself sitting on the edge of her seat, eyes narrow as she takes in every detail of Alya’s account. She can’t say she’s exactly surprised when Alya admits she put the blog on hiatus after getting grounded for neglecting her sisters - trying to pass them off onto someone else or to get out of them entirely had entirely caught Ladybug off-guard, but she also recalls the sudden… not even request, but  _ demand  _ that Marinette take over for her one day.

“Just one question,” Ladybug interrupts, “Why did you leave your sisters behind? Was there some sort of emergency?”

Alya bites her lip, staring at the ground. “Can you promise not to tell anyone about this? Thinking about it now, I realize it was kind of shady of me, and I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

“I… it depends on how bad it is. But otherwise, yes, I’ll keep it to myself.”

“If you asked me a month ago, I would have said it was. But I realize it’s just kind of silly now,” she sighs, pacing over towards her desk, “I got into a fight with my friend Marinette over talking to a boy. So I figured the best way to get her back on track was if she saw him talking and hanging out with this other girl that she didn’t like. But she said  _ no _ , she wasn’t going to bother with that. When that didn’t pan out, I dragged a girl  _ I  _ was friends with, but  _ she  _ didn’t like, into the situation with hopes that it would spark her to step up her game.”

Looking down at her feet, Ladybug begins to put the pieces together. One of the girls in the scenario absolutely  _ had  _ to be Lila. The description was too spot on to be anyone else. And Alya certainly wasn’t friends with Chloe, which meant that-

This had been the  _ same  _ day Alya showed up at her house after her date with Luka. Alya has been grounded for  _ that  _ long?

“After that,” Alya continues, ignoring Ladybug’s contemplative gestures, “I got home after spending time with her, and my older sister was so upset with me. I made her miss a match even after she sent me a bunch of messages.”

“You didn’t notice your phone buzzing when it got them?”

“That’s the weird thing,” Alya says quietly, “I didn’t even know I got those messages until Nora pointed it out. My phone had no notifications.”

_ That  _ sounds suspicious. 

“Who were you hanging out with that day?”

“My friend? Oh, you know her! Lila Rossi.”

“That… makes a lot of sense,” she says aloud, more to herself than Alya. But Alya’s confused expression doesn’t go unnoticed by her.

“What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting that Lila-”

“Sabotaged you, yes. Why, I don’t know,” she frowns, “I meant to tell you this sooner, and I should have. However, you weren’t listening to anything I was saying, so I didn’t know if you would have taken it to heart. But Lila has  _ never  _ been my friend.”

During the time leading up to this conversation, Ladybug expected a lot of gasping and dozens of worried questions thrown her way. Most of them pertaining to the Ladyblog, but more of them concerning how Lila could do such a thing.

The unmoving, sad expression on Alya’s face is far removed from all of that.

“So then it’s really true then. I have no choice but to admit it, but Lila is a liar,” a smile cracks from the corners of her mouth, before she starts laughing, “You know, my friends tried to warn me a while back about this, and I just brushed it off.” She bites back a sob, no longer facing Ladybug. “And Marinette warned me too. She said that even if Lila had been telling the truth, it was a dangerous thing to post, but I ignored her, and said that Hawkmoth wouldn’t care.”

Getting up from her chair, Ladybug walks toward Alya, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Why did you tell her that?”

“Because,” she says, voice so low and quiet, Ladybug doesn’t even recognize it as Alya’s. The meekness isn’t befitting of her. “I didn’t  _ want  _ her to be right. If she was right, that would have compromised the blog so much, and I would have let  _ everyone  _ down. My family, my friends, the city of Paris…” she pauses for a moment. “ _ You _ .”

Burying her face in her hands, Alya cries and shakes, and things are quiet for a few moments. As foreign as it is seeing Alya be so vulnerable and upset, the feeling itself is all too familiar to Marinette. She thinks about all the times she’s felt so utterly defeated, and sits back, allowing Alya to process. In return, Ladybug keeps a sharp eye out for akumas ready to take advantage of the situation. Strangely enough, none come and she’s all too relieved.

For a moment, she clears her throat and continues her story, “I wanted to believe that Lila was a good person. When my friends presented proof that she was lying, I figured that there had to be  _ some  _ truth to that. But… I couldn’t afford to be wrong, and so I just told myself Marinette was jealous and that everyone else was being unreasonable, because it’d be easier that way.” A few more sobs cut her off, and she clutches her forehead, looking down at the ground. Her other arm warps itself over her stomach, as if to support herself to stand up.

“Alya, thank you for being honest with me about what happened,” Ladybug says as Alya calms down, “Admitting to all of that isn’t easy. I know the blog means a lot to you and you’ve sacrificed a lot, but you have to understand that posting that video  _ really  _ hurt me,” she points out, “I’m sure some of your fans figured out that it was edited and responded to it. But I also had to deal with backlash from Chat of all people.”

Wiping her tears away, Alya rubs the temples of her forehead, giving herself a moment before responding. “I’m really sorry, Ladybug. I realize now just how bad I messed things up. I understand if you don’t ever want to give me a miraculous again.”

Ah, the age old question that she  _ still  _ doesn’t have an answer for. Alya has made major realizations in the past couple of weeks, but just how far would Alya go to make things up, not just to  _ her _ , but to everyone else around them? One way to figure that out was to arrange a chat between Alya and  _ Marinette _ , but the timing of that would be too coincidental. 

“I will let you keep the end-of-summer deadline,” she says, “What you do next will determine your position on the team. Have a good night, Alya.”

She doesn’t wait for Alya to say goodbye to her as she leaps out of the window and into the neverending Parisian night sky.

—-

The next morning promises to be a bit easier: a meeting with Kitty Section and Jagged about the direction for the first album, and then a styling appointment with Aurore. She wasted no time in contacting Marinette after Summer Sesh about it, and Marinette was all too happy to help out. After the hours of studying, practicing with Kaalki, and being away from her sewing machine, her fingers were itching to design and create something new once again.

For now, she sits next to Luka at the table set upstairs in the break room. Ruby is still in the middle of organizing everything downstairs, so a proper meeting room hasn’t been set up. While they would rather leave business out of their break room, their only other option would have been Jagged’s office, and that was  _ definitely _ too small to operate in.

At one head of the table is Rose, hands folded neatly and with notes lying in front of her. Her father patiently sits at a table behind her, mostly checking his phone and waiting for the meeting to start. To her right are Juleka, Luka and Marinette, while Ivan sits to her left, leaving two empty seats for Penny and Ruby. At the far end is the empty seat meant for Jagged, who currently makes his way up the stairs and settles into the seat, mirroring Rose’s pose.

“Alright, my rock-stars-to-be. We had a killer performance down at Summer Sesh and everyone on social media has been hyping us up,” he says, slamming his hands onto the table. “But even with your first EP on its way, we need to start preparing material for your first official album! And so, today’s meeting is to discuss what we’ll be needing. My first question to all of you, have you had any thoughts on what songs you would like to rock the world with?”

“Ahem,” Rose says, clearing her throat and shooting right out of her chair, “Not only have we thought of the songs that absolutely  _ have  _ to be on our album, but we have an entire direction and message to say planned out.”

Jagged and Penny exchange a surprised look, while Ruby only looks on in utter fascination, typing notes on her laptop with reverent speed. Ever since the Reflekdoll incident, Ruby had fewer problems keeping on top of all the work thrown her way, and was even allowed to handle their online profiles. Marinette couldn’t help but hope that they would keep her on when the summer ended; the studio just wouldn’t feel the same without her.

At the moment, Jagged and Penny are more interested in what Rose has to say, especially as she holds up a colorful sign:

_ Hawkmoth Can Suck It: The Album _ .

“We live in upsetting and dark times,” Rose says, handing the sign to Ivan as she paces back and forth across the room, “All because of a supervillain who thinks he can get away with manipulating people’s emotions! You have a day where you just want to let off some steam? He’ll capitalize on that! You hear someone you loved passed away, or even just told you something mean? Well, you can’t cry without him trying to get on that!”

Jagged leans over, his elbows propped and chin resting over his folded hands, nodding along to Rose’s speech. 

“Hell, he tried to sabotage our beach trip just to claim some jewelry!” she continues, now getting  _ everyone _ to nod along and agree in harmony, “So, we need to make an artistic statement! We’re going to allow ourselves to be angry, or cry, or feel doubtful, without that  _ manipulator _ trying to turn us into bad guys!”

Excitement envelops the room - Ruby’s typing becomes a lot more furious, the members of Kitty Section all look to each other and nod furiously, and even Rose’s dad, who usually keeps to himself, lets out a passionate, “_Hell_ yeah!” much to everyone’s surprise.

“ _ That  _ is a good start to your album,” Jagged proclaims, “Sticking it to the man has is a classic move, and I’m glad to see you’re taking a stand! I love it already!”

Taking it as a cue to continue, Rose gestures to Luka, and he pulls his laptop from his bag, passing it down to her. “We’ve already thrown together some ideas for the musical direction of this album, and we like the idea of playing with different genres to reflect different emotions from being akumatized. Shoegaze and dreampop for a fuzzier, confused state! Metal for the anger that was ignited in all of us! Grunge for something more desperate!”

As Rose continues her pitch to Jagged, everyone in the room gets more involved, especially as they showcase some of the songs they’ve already worked on. Juleka, of course, is all too happy to propose her figurine music video, laying out the finished products on the table. All it takes to remove Marinette from the moment is the insistent buzzing of her phone.

_ A: Hey Marinette! I finished a bit early today, so I’m on my way over to the mall now! I might look around a bit and see if there’s something that I like, and text you if I do _ !

Slipping her phone back in her pocket, she winks to Rose, who just catches the cue.

“Oh, of course, we want Marinette to design our album cover!” she squeals, “She did such a great job with the varsity jackets, and she just  _ gets  _ us, you know?”

“That won’t be a problem,” Jagged says with a shrug, “As long as our favorite designer is up to the challenge?”

Laughing, she says, “Of course I am! I can start sketching some concepts for you guys, though it’ll likely be better once you have more material to work with.”

“Of course!”

“Alright then,” she says, getting out of her seat, “We can talk about it more later, but right now, I gotta head out and work on another project. I’ll catch up with all of you later.”

Heading out of the building and towards the mall, Marinette doesn’t even bother trying to hide the satisfied grin on her face. Despite all of the setbacks as Ladybug,  _ Marinette _ was at least having some things go her way. And with the entirety of August left to enjoy summer, there was plenty of time for things to turn around.

Almost as if the universe wanted to spite her, she overhears an exchange that makes her stop in her tracks.

“ _ Please _ . As if someone like  _ you  _ would ever manage to score a role on a children’s TV series,” a familiar voice scoffs, Marinette envisioning the toss of her hair.

_ Oh, no. _

“Oh, yeah? And why’s that?” It takes Marinette a moment to recognize the voice as Aurore’s, and before she knows it, she’s rushing over to the source, finding that against all odds, Aurore and Chloe have entered a verbal battle of wits. Sabrina stands behind Chloe, trying to look inconspicuous. 

“Ugh, you’re so  _ naive _ . Of course someone who directs kid’s TV isn’t going to hire the sore loser that became a real life bad guy,” Chloe says, making it a point to get in her face. “Ugh, your name was so lame I just had to block it from memory. What was it again, Sabrina?”

“Stormy Weather?”

Chloe’s laugh pierces Marinette with just how mean-spirited it is. Four years of crying, hiding away, and dread creep back up on her, and she begins to shake as she realizes that her fingers curled into her hands.

_ She hasn’t learned anything _ .

“That’s right! What a ridiculous name and power! All you did was  _ rain  _ on people,” she says, rolling her eyes, “You couldn’t even be a  _ good  _ bad guy, could you? Still, you know what they: once a bad guy,  _ always  _ a bad guy.”

“Look who’s talking,” Marinette spouts, walking toward the both of them, “You’ve been akumatized  _ how  _ many times now? Once as Antibug,  _ twice  _ as Queen Wasp?”

“Ugh, Dupain-Cheng.”

“‘ _ Ugh, Dupain-Cheng _ ,’” she spits back in her face, “That’s the only thing you can say, because you  _ know  _ I’m right and you don’t have a defense for yourself. You’re supposed to be a  _ hero _ . I threw a  _ party  _ for you, and you continue to go around bullying people? What would Ladybug think?”

For a moment, Chloe’s irritated expression falters, her mouth agape at the very idea of being asked that. But it only takes a second for her to recover and fire back. “What would  _ you  _ know about being a hero, Dupain-Cheng? Ladybug chose  _ me _ .”

“And you don’t think she’d be upset about her decision if she knew how you were acting?” Marinette points out, “Considering you antagonized over a dozen people, which lead to them getting akumatized, I think she’d be pretty pissed to see you act like this.”

“You know, your mouth is moving and your voice is making sounds, but all I hear is ‘I’m jealous, I’m jealous!’” Chloe yawns, rolling her eyes again. Looking around the area, both of them realize that Aurore has run off, and Marinette immediately panics. As she runs off to transform, she barely hears Chloe yell out, “Hey, get back here! I wasn’t done picking on either one of you  _ losers _ !” 

_ So much for a peaceful afternoon shopping _ , she sighs to herself. Finding a quiet area to transform, Ladybug leaps into the air, trying to locate Aurore. Afraid she’ll be too late, she takes a chance and looks inside of a bathroom, where she sees the purple outline of the butterfly talking directly to Aurore.

“Aurore _ , no _ !” Ladybug shrieks, getting onto her knees and ready to reach out, “Whatever he’s promising you  _ isn’t  _ worth it! Whatever it is you want, you can achieve with your own hands!”

“L-Ladybug…?”

She grunts, her hand racing to the sides of her head, and Ladybug determines that now is the time to summon her Lucky Charm, receiving a shopping bag.

“Your friend, Marinette, told me you were supposed to go shopping today, remember? But then Chloe said something really nasty to you? You can say what happened, I’ll listen, but you have to let go of the akuma.”

“I-I won’t do it,” she says, “Get out of my head now…”

The butterfly refuses to leave, and Ladybug knows all too well why - because then she’ll capture it with her yoyo and purify it.

“Hand me the object it landed in,” she says, “I’ll take it from here!”

Aurore’s hand wavers as she hands over the parasol, allowing Ladybug to break it and purify the butterfly. After casting Miraculous healing, the parasol is returned to normal, and Aurore takes it back hesitantly.

“I-I’m sorry, Ladybug,” she sniffles, “I almost let myself get akumatized again, and all because of something  _ Chloe  _ said. It’s just… I worked so hard to clean up my image after losing the Weather Girl contest, but a lot of people  _ still  _ think I’m a bad person. W-What if they don’t want to hire me onto anything?”

“Don’t worry about that right now. You’re a talented and really nice person, so I know things will work out,” Ladybug says, rubbing her back, “I’m sorry Chloe said something like that to you. I expected better of her. Has she been saying stuff like that to you a lot?”

“Not just me,” she says, rubbing at her eyes, “Practically everyone in school. Even  _ Kagami _ has insults hurled at her, for not being a ‘magnificent’ hero like Queen Bee and still trying to get with Adrien.”

_ That would explain her behavior at the movie premiere _ , she thinks to herself sullenly. Putting that thought aside, she continues to comfort Aurore until she finally has the courage to walk out of the bathroom and call for Colette and Mirielle, who escort her home.

Marinette feels bad that their shopping trip had to be postponed, but there are important matters to be solved. Taking out her phone she sends a text to Master Fu and Luka separately.

_ A cut has to be made to the team. The bee must retire. _

—-

About an hour later, after calming herself down and checking on Aurore one last time, Ladybug heads for Le Grand Paris, where Chloe is lounging on the roof, no doubt ordering Sabrina or her butler to do something.

“ _ ... _ And make sure it’s Italian!” she demands, “I’d rather clean myself in a  _ silver  _ bathtub than drink sparkling water that  _ isn’t  _ from Italy!”

Sighing, she wishes that this  _ weren’t  _ the one instance that she was right. Rubbing her temples with her palm, she touches down just in front of the pool.

“ _ Ladybug _ !” Chloe exclaims, practically falling out of her lounge chair, “It’s about time you came to call upon Queen Bee again! Seriously, Chat Noir has been so lazy as of late, and while that Viperion guy is cute,  _ someone  _ ought to show him the ropes of what it means to be a  _ true  _ hero.”

Now Ladybug hates the fact that  _ Chloe  _ is right in part. But Chat was another matter to be settled, outside of Chloe’s influence.

“And what about you?” she asks, “Would you consider yourself a true hero, Chloe?”

“Who,  _ moi _ ? Of course I am!” she says, standing proud, “I help you defeat villains all the time! Paris is proud to have me!”

“Interesting,” Ladybug retorts, walking a bit closer to her, “Because I wouldn’t call insulting people in public as very heroic behavior.”

Chloe blinks, frowning. “What are you talking about?”

“I heard everything from Aurore,” she continues, “I was  _ just  _ able to catch and stop her from being akumatized again. And if she  _ had  _ been akumatized again? That would have been  _ your  _ fault, Chloe.”

“ _ What _ ?” she squawks, “You’re going to believe that wannabe weather girl over  _ me? _ You know me!”

“Yes, I do know you, Chloe. And now I know you well enough that I can’t trust you anymore. From this day forth, you will no longer be Queen Bee.”

If Ladybug weren’t so pissed right now, she might have felt stung from the look on Chloe’s face - her jaw completely agape, a hand rushing to cover it up, and her eyes  _ pleading _ for this to be a joke.

“N-No,” she gasps, “Ladybug, you  _ have  _ to give me another chance!”

“ _ Another  _ chance?” she huffs, “Chloe, you’ve been given  _ plenty  _ of chances to clean up your act! That one girl you bullied for  _ four  _ years threw you a party after saving the city! Your teacher has been nothing but patient with you, punishing the victims of  _ your  _ actions! I allowed you to keep the bee because I thought being a hero would force you to become a better person, with or without the mask. And yet, you continue to harass other people, and then expect I’ll give you the bee when they’re nearly akumatized? Someone who is so entitled, stubborn and cruel cannot be a hero. You’re off the team, Chloe.”

Chloe can only stare in indignant shock, and without another word, Ladybug leaps off the balcony, swinging through the city. She feels a pit in her stomach, and it doesn’t go away, even after she transforms back into Marinette, and shoots off a text to Luka about it being over. Tikki is there, patting her cheek and calming her down before she steps back into Fu’s apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Now with commentary.  
https://xxxsaltybugxxx.tumblr.com/post/189069476014/you-know-jack-ryder-the-reporter-in-the-game


	2. I Remember All the Second Chances

It's the second time that week she finds herself settled at Fu's apartment, waiting for him to make tea. Since the encounter with Chloe, she's mostly calmed down, and is mostly tired. Letting the steam of the tea hit her face seems to do the trick, though she still has some worries, like if Chloe would be akumatized.

"Unfortunately, someone was bound to end up getting akumatized from all of this," Fu says, placing cookies on the table, "If not Aurore Beaureal, another one of Chloe's victims would have lashed out. Yes, I have reasons to believe that Chloe will likely be akumatized from this, but you made the right call. Paris needs to trust you and Queen Bee's behavior will be taken as a sign of betrayal of that trust."

"I know. But that doesn't make it easier."

Though his eyes look at her with worry, the fact that his shoulders are lax and he calmly continues to pour tea, she can tell he's not worried about this decision. She recalls Fu expressing concern not too long ago when Chloe first became Queen Bee. Maybe she should have listened to him then.

"Something else is bothering you?"

"No. I made the right decision. Chloe only would have hurt us in the end. I just wish making the decision in Alya's case was clearer to me."

Fu says, "Both girls hurt you, but Queen Bee has intentionally hurt you and others countless times. And furthermore, she's showed no remorse for it. You tried believing in her and it didn't work out. If you believe Rena is capable of change, then it's fine if you're giving her this chance. You won't be the only one evaluating her anyway."

"Wait, you mean-"

He nods. "Either myself or Marianne will be keeping a close eye on Rena and Carapace going forward."

Sighing, she takes another sip of tea and looks to Tikki. Zooming up to Marinette's face, she gives her a pat on the cheek, making both of them smile. Tikki doesn't need to say a word in this case, but she knows what's being inferred - you're not alone. 

Her phone buzzes, alerting her to a recent akuma sighting. As predicted, the suspect appeared to be Chloe based off the silhouette and hairstyle. The photo is a bit blurry, but a few details are clear: she wears a yellow and black cupcake dress, her white sunglasses sit on top of her head, and she easily glides through the air with a vicious look in her eye.

Marinette knows which miraculous she wants to grab before Fu can even pull out the box. Moments later, she's pulled the snake, tiger, pig and ox.

"Your instincts are growing much sharper as a Guardian," Fu remarks, "Now that I think about it, you should be getting an extension soon."

"You mean I'll get an extra five minutes on the timer?"

"Most likely, yes. You've been with Tikki for nearly a year, and you've grown so much, so I suspect you're ready to advance in your powers. But enough on that. Go and find the others."

\--

Everyone is still at the studio, so it takes a bit of strategy to get her heroes. Luka is the first she pulls, and the easiest to give the miraculous to - she doesn't even have to transform to do it. Instructing him to wait for her on the floor before the roof, she slips into the bathroom and transforms.

Rose and Juleka are in the corner of the main lobby, trying to distract themselves by working on the figurines for a music video. Both of their eyes practically light up at the sight of the miraculouses, and both head to the bathroom to change. Ivan, on the other hand, is upstairs, outside the break room, staring at his work written on a piece of paper. Ladybug doesn’t even need to say anything to him for him to know what she’s requesting, and takes the ox without question.

They all reconvene on the roof, surveying the city. Using her yoyo, she pulls up articles and videos to see if there’s any new information on the akuma. Apparently, Chloe is going by the name of Miracle Queen, but there are still no quality images of what she looks like.

“Alright,” Ladybug sighs, “Our opponent today is Chloe Bourgeois, or Miracle Queen. We need to figure out what power she has before we engage. It looks like she’s hanging out around the hotel, which could give us a tactical advantage, since I’ve fought there before.”

“Um, Ladybug,” Princess asks, “If you don’t mind me asking, do we know why Chloe was akumatized again? It seems kind of random.”

“It’s not,” she says quietly, “Chloe was hurting people as a civilian, and so I revoked her privilege to act as Queen Bee.”

"Well, of course she got akumatized. You provoked her."

For the first time in weeks, Chat touches down in front of them and engages in conversation. However, there's a heavy anger in his glare, as if he were a higher figure casting judgment upon foolish sinners. 

With her fingers rolled into fists and her jaw clenched, she can only return the gaze with quiet fury. 

"What did you want me to do, Chat? Allow her to continue being a hero?"

"You could have broken it to her nicer? Maybe give her a second chance?"

"Do you honestly think that would have made a difference? Do you know how many acts of kindness and second chances have been in vain when getting through to Chloe?" She spits, trying her hardest not to yell. "_ All _ of them. Every single one of them. How many second chances would it take for you to realize that?"

He hesitates for a moment before replying. “You’re completely out of control. _ We’re _ supposed to be _ partners _ , but then you go ahead and pick and get rid of teammates _ without _me.”

“Maybe if you actually _acted _like a partner, and treated our teammates with respect, I would have given your opinion more consideration,” she snarls, “Why is that I have to entertain what _you _want but when I tell you to back off and stop hitting on me, you get to act like _I’m _being unreasonable?”

“Come on. Are you seriously airing our dirty laundry in front of everyone right now?”

At that point, Taureau, Princess and Tigresse all look to each other in concern, trying to find a way to phase themselves out of this conversation. Ladybug doesn’t blame them. It’s only their second mission, and none of them expected to be dealing with such heavy emotional baggage.

She doesn’t expect Viperion to step up and be the one to speak. “If you don’t want her to call you out, don’t give her material to work with.”

The glare Chat gave her moments ago has nothing on the look on his face now. She’s so used to thinking Chat is either really laid-back or more recently, a bit pathetic, to the point that she wasn’t sure if he was capable of genuine hatred. Now, she’s had that misconception completely shattered and she almost winces from the sight of it.

“_ Stay _ out of this, _ snake _.”

“_ Don’t _talk to him like that!” Ladybug snaps, “He’s our teammate, and he’s done his fair share of work helping me with the akumas! He and everyone else here deserve a lot more respect!”

“He’s _ your _teammate,” Chat scoffs, “If you’re going to continue working with these people, than I’m going solo. And I’m not coming back until you apologize to me.”

“Then don’t come back,” Taureau barks, “You know, we used to look up to you, but the fact that you’re willing to defend _ Chloe _to prove a point is disgusting.”

“Chloe has hurt too many people, even after she became Queen Bee,” Tigresse argues, “The ‘hurt’ she suffered from is only a fraction compared to everyone else.”

“Whatever it is you’re upset about, we can work through it later,” Princess insists, “But Ladybug is trusting all of us to help her save the city!”

Chat turns his back, giving them a flippant wave goodbye. “I’ll just talk to Chloe myself. Make things easier that way. Later.”

Part of her is relieved when he jumps off the roof and onto the next, making his way over to the hotel. Still, she sighs and is only comforted by Viperion’s gently patting her shoulder. Looking to him, she says, “Let’s not worry about him. We have to stop Chloe.”

Pulling out her browser on her yoyo, they’re able to track Miracle Queen’s movements, heading towards some apartment complexes. Interestingly, her outfit is all black now, and there’s a dark glow coming from the bridge of her sunglasses. Looking up, there’s also a mechanical bee headed that way, much to her confusion.

“Um, Ladybug, what _ is _that thing?” Princess asks.

The closest thing that comes to mind was the strange monster Hawkmoth’s companion summoned back during Heroes’ Day. According to Fu, it was a creature known as a sentimonster, and it was created by whoever wielded the peafowl miraculous. Which meant it was still somewhere in the city.

“It’s another enemy of ours, created by Hawkmoth’s ally,” she explains, “Like an akuma, it’ll have an object that we have to break, only we’re looking for an amok, or a feather. I need to purify it, just like with the akumas, before I can fix everything in the city.”

Tigresse frowns, leaning towards the direction of the bee, “It looks like it’s headed towards wherever Miracle Queen is. Should I track it?”

“Not yet. We’ve barely started yet, we might need it for later,” Ladybug argues, “Let’s follow it for now.”

She realizes it’s the first time the new heroes are going to be seen in the city, and more importantly, their first time flying over everyone. The giggles of Princess and the slight smiles of Tigresse and Taureau are contagious, and soon enough, her worries over Chat and Miracle Queen cease…

...Until they find Miracle Queen preparing to launch an attack at the apartment building. Based off the black energy radiating from her hand, it looks similar to Chat’s Cataclysm. Using her yoyo to scan the building, she suddenly realizes the _ real _reason why Miracle Queen is attacking it; Aurore is inside with Mirielle and Colette, looking to evacuate.

“Guys, we have an emergency rescue! Taureau, you’re with me! You three, try to stop Miracle Queen from attacking the building!”

To keep her from seeing the two of them, Ladybug and Taureau swing to the opposite side of the building, thankfully finding an open window to slip in through. Excusing themselves to the couple inside the unit, they exit and manage to run into the three girls.

“Ladybug!” Aurore exclaims, “We managed to warn some of the people in the building about Miracle Queen, but they haven’t all evacuated!” She bites her lip, “S-She said that it was my fault that she-”

“It’s not,” Ladybug says, patting her shoulder, “Don’t listen to her. She had no right to say that to you when she’s paying for her own actions.” Her words earn a smile from Aurore, “We’ll get you down to the lobby and have someone make an announcement to finish evacuating the building. We’ll try to distract Miracle Queen long enough for everyone to get away.”

After escorting the three girls out of the building and making the announcement, Ladybug stumbles upon the scene at hand - Miracle Queen _ did _manage to use the power of Cataclysm, but only after being thrown into a street lamp. Scowling, her costume switches to orange, and Ladybug is finally able to get a better look at it.

Miracle Queen wears a dress with a short, poofy skirt, and long sleeves that are tipped, wrapping over her middle knuckle. The body of the dress is orange, and she wears black leggings under it, along with black boots with a bit of heel to them. The sunglasses that sit on her head have five gems total - two for each frame, and one right on the bridge of the nose. That one flashes orange, while one gem on the left flashes green, and two gems on the right flash yellow and red. One of the gems is gray and dormant. Assuming one of them was meant to be black, then it probably lost its color after using Cataclysm.

_ So red, black, yellow, green, and orange… _

“I figured out her powers,” Ladybug mutters to herself, “Taureau, let’s regroup with the others. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Thankfully, Viperion and the others aren’t too far away, so they’re able to reconvene rather quickly.

“Miracle Queen has the powers of me, Chat, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee,” she explains, “She’s already used Cataclysm and I assume she’s about to use Mirage.”

“Which means someone can end up getting tricked,” Viperion argues, “We need to stay sharp.”

A violent buzzing behind them throws them off their guard, however, and the six heroes end up dispersing. Miracle Queen disappears from view, and the giant bee starts moving away from the group, not looking to attack any one of them.

Frowning, Ladybug leaps into action, tracking the bee across the city, until it slows down, lowering itself behind a building. Its eyes point in a certain direction, and crouching down, she gasps at what she discovers.

_ Another _Ladybug, kissing Chat. Her hand reaches for the ring on his finger, slowly slipping it off. The bee takes that as a cue to get closer, and Ladybug is quick to react, throwing her yoyo to stop the fake…

...except that it’s intercepted by someone. 

“I won’t let you interfere with Hawkmoth’s plans, nor get in the way of my beloved creation, Worker Bee,” a woman entirely in blue says, “We’ll be securing _ both _of your miraculouses today.”

Thankfully, Viperion lands on the scene and tosses his lyre at the woman, catching her off-guard. This gives Ladybug the chance to see that the fake Ladybug has secured Chat’s ring, and gives it to the bee, which begins to fly away.

She also sees that left in Chat’s place is Adrien.

_ Oh god. _

She doesn’t have time to process what she just saw. The rest of her teammates land on the roof, which leaves Ladybug to assume that Miracle Queen is waiting for the right moment to join the fray again. Worker Bee begins making a beeline away from the area and toward somewhere else to deliver Chat’s miraculous.

“Taureau, Tigresse, go and follow Worker Bee,” Ladybug commands, “Viperion and Princess, you guys are with me.”

Activating Stealth Mode, Tigresse begins dashing toward Worker Bee, keeping a close eye on it, as Taureau follows behind, trying to keep pace.

To be honest, she’s not confident in this plan. Thus far, Worker Bee hasn’t attacked anyone of them, and Fu mentioned that the amoks didn’t always create a sentimonster meant to harm anyone. But if Hawkmoth had sent another miraculous holder, a sentimonster _ and _an akuma out into the field, then the chances aren’t looking to be in their favor.

At that moment, Miracle Queen leaps into the action, looking to attack the two in pursuit Worker Bee. Ladybug is quick to throw and tie her yoyo at Queen’s ankle, yanking her backwards. Irritated, she moves in front of the woman and transforms to use Shellter.

“_ Why _did you do that?” the woman sighs, “You should have waited until they actually attacked!”

“Well, _ excuse you _,” Miracle Queen huffs, “But I’m not used to using the powers that belong to losers!”

At most, the two of them only have a minute before the shield collapses, if Miracle Queen even decides to hold it for that long. Feeling pressed for time, Ladybug summons her Lucky Charm, revealing a sheet of metal. Surveying the area, both Princess and Viperion light up, as well as Miracle Queen.

“_ Princess, _ ” she whispers urgently, “It looks like we’re in a _ sticky _situation.”

Catching onto the _ real _meaning, Princess summons her Glue Stick and waits further directions.

As expected, when the shield falls, Miracle Queen transforms into her yellow dress, and prepares to use Venom. Just as she gets close enough, Ladybug holds up the sheet of metal, causing Miracle Queen to gasp from the impact of the hit.

“Now, Princess!”

She hesitates to fire as the blue woman launches herself in the way. Thankfully, Viperion is there to once again distract her long enough for Miracle Queen to get stuck in place. From there, Ladybug tosses her yoyo to the woman back long enough for Viperion to cast Snake Eyes.

Grabbing and breaking the sunglasses, Ladybug captures the akuma and cleanses it, leaving only a disoriented, confused Chloe.

“Ladybug? What are _ you _doing here?”

She only dignifies that remark with a hard glare. “Cleaning up _ your _mess.”

As if things couldn’t get worse, Tigresse and Taureau return to the rooftop with long, sad expressions on their face.

“I’m sorry, Ladybug,” Tigresse says quietly, “We tried our best to get the miraculous back from Worker Bee but…”

“Hawkmoth showed up and almost took our miraculouses,” Taureau says, “We couldn’t risk letting that happen.”

“_ Hawkmoth?” _ she gasps, looking around to see if the blue woman was still around for questioning. However, by the time she turns around, she already catches sight of Worker Bee making off with both Hawkmoth and his associate, cradling her in his arms. She _ ought _ to go after them, but the beeping of _ five _miraculouses all indicate that time is almost up for the rest of her team, and it was less than ideal to handle going after Hawkmoth and his new sidekick by herself. 

“It’s my fault,” Tigresse says, face looking downcast, “We were so close to getting the cat back but… I just wasn’t strong enough.”

“It’s not your fault,” Ladybug assures her, “You did the right thing, trying to get away from Hawkmoth. It’s only your second assignment in the field.”

“_Wait _,” Chloe interrupts, “Hawkmoth has Chat Noir’s miraculous?”

Ladybug doesn’t look back at her when she answers. “Yes.”

“Ladybug, I’m-”

“It’s a bit too late for your apologies, Chloe,” she says, “Maybe you should have given them out sooner.”

No one says anything else as she escorts them off the roof to collect their miraculouses. 

\---

She wishes that upon informing Fu, he’d be able to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. That he’d have a plan to deal with everything. That despite the loss, there was nothing to lose.

Instead, Fu solemnly contemplates the news and stares at the window. “I see. That puts us in a precarious position, Marinette. Since Chat knows about me, he may get pressed for answers. This is even worse if our worries about Gabriel Agreste and Hawkmoth prove to be true."

“I...I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head. “You and your team did your best to retrieve the miraculous. It’s Chat’s fault for acting so arrogant and aloof. The truth is, I was considering removing his miraculous after we performed the ritual for you and Viperion, and finding a new owner for Plagg. But we’re going to have to change plans.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain in a bit, but first, I need to show you something.”

Transforming with Kaalki, he opens a portal to somewhere in the cold mountain range of another country. She can’t tell _ which _country, but she assumes it has something to do with the Guardians, based off the symbols and iconography of the temple.

“This was the temple where I studied for years,” he explains, “I haven’t been back here since Bo’s betrayal. It just… wouldn’t feel right to remain here. But with the way things are, I don’t think I have many other options.”

“Master Fu-”

“Don’t worry, I said I’d still be advising you,” he says, “I’ll be giving you Kaalki and a few of the other miraculouses to keep on hand should an emergency arise. And with technology from modern day, we’ll have no problems keeping in touch with each other. Furthermore, Marianne is returning to the area. Originally, she was only supposed to help with the ritual, but with the way things are, she agreed to help with other things.”

She nods, frowning. “We can’t afford to wait and test the ritual on just me and Viperion. We should have the rest of the team come in.”

“I agree. Although, I’ll have to make adjustments to our preparations. Here is what I’m thinking…”

When her conversation with Fu ends, Marinette finds herself returning to the houseboat, collapsing into Luka’s arms and letting herself cry. They sit in the living room, as Juleka and Rose take the joint bedroom. After giving her some time to calm down, Luka finally asks her, “What did the Guardian have to say?”

Dabbing the rest of her tears away, she speaks low. “He doesn’t think he’s going to be able to stay in Paris. Adri-” she shakes her head, “_ Chat _, knew who he was, and if his dad is linked to Hawkmoth…”

“That would give away his location.”

It suddenly hits her just how betrayed she feels by the whole situation. _ Chat _ told her to just let Lila continue lying. _ Adrien _ got pushy about his feelings toward her. _ Chat _ enabled Chloe and made _ her _ feel bad for wanting her bully to be gone. _ Adrien _ attempted to kiss her several times _ without _her consent. 

Neither identity trusted her.

How did he fall so far from the partner that gave her hope on their second mission? He claimed to love her, but she would have traded every bit of that love for real trust in her decisions.

As she cries and cries, the only solace she has for the moment is knowing that she’s in the arms of someone who grants her both his love _ and _trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, this chapter was the most stressful thing to write, and I can't wait to explain why in my commentary. But TL;DR: it's because I didn't expect Chat to lose his miraculous *this* way.
> 
> Next chapter we finally get the ritual! Although, there's an interlude or two planned for "Paper Sky" first, so make sure to check for that first!
> 
> EDIT: Now with commentary - https://xxxsaltybugxxx.tumblr.com/post/189290310289/atlwhitp-ch-2-commentary


	3. I Remember Our Promise

For the past two days, Marinette has gotten to know the sight of her family kitchen rather well. She can’t recall a time prior where she needed to spend so much time baking and preparing for a meal, even though she was only making bread and dessert. 

Upon hearing about her little project, her father, of course, insisted that he help, and it took every persuasive argument Marinette could think of to talk him out of it. Besides, Luka was there to help, and knowing her dad, he’d want to eat . And how could he resist? Despite spending years surrounded by the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven, her father was not immune to her or her mother’s baking.

She almost regrets turning him down though when she realizes just how much cleaning up she’s going to have to do. Several bowls lay out on the table, still covered in leftover bits of dough and cream. The knife and whisk sat by the sink, ready to be washed off, with the cooled baking sheets still sitting on the counter.

Despite the monotony of baking and cleaning, Marinette welcomes it. It keeps her busy, active, and most importantly, it keeps her from thinking about  _ him _ .

_ Adrien. _

Staring down at the sink, her hand creeps toward the faucet, taking her time as she washes the dishes. Just as the soap and water swirls around the surface of the bowl, so do realizations of Adrien in the front of her mind. 

Even now, it's difficult reconciling Adrien and Chat as one person. At first glance, she didn't think Adrien had anything in common with Chat. Chat was so flashy and dramatic, while Adrien was so... solemn? 

It strikes her that she isn't really sure about that, and it makes her wonder if she ever really knew Adrien that well in the first place. She only hung out with him maybe twice by herself. Neither time would have given him that much of an opportunity to open up about himself. And even if she knew things about him, like his after school activities and what music he liked, what did Adrien really know about her, as Ladybug or Marinette?

Ladybug never told either boy about her aspirations, her favorite foods, or how she actually preferred pink to red. And while Marinette told Chat about her loneliness, he never asked her about the boy she liked. Instead, she sat there and listened to him vent about a date she never promised him.

It all leaves her wondering if she could even really have called herself Adrien's friend, and how things were going to be at school now that she no longer intended to act like it. Would he even care or notice her drifting away from him, especially after how she snapped at him at Summer Sesh? Would he connect her to Ladybug somehow?

A hand reaches for the faucet, before settling on her shoulder. "Drowning out some bad thoughts?"

"More like failing to," she sighs, "Sorry, I should really get going here so I can get everything over to the temple."

"You're fine," he insists, "We're not meeting at the studio until later, and if the ritual takes no more than an hour, that leaves us plenty of time."

"Theoretically," she points out, "But I still have to gather the other holders. And Master Fu is going to want to talk to everyone about stuff, it'll be more like two hours."

He nods his head, though something about his expression tells her that he's not entirely assured.

"Are you... nervous about meeting the Guardian?"

Laughing, a hand runs through his hair. "Yeah, just a bit. To be honest, even knowing that the two of you want me to become your full-time partner, I'm... still worried I might end up letting you down somehow. Maybe it’s silly to say, but seeing you get hurt like that… I don’t ever want to think that I could be capable of doing something like that to you."

“Why would you think that?”

He bites his lip. “Do you remember how angry I got when Bob Roth threatened you? So angry, I couldn’t even speak? I hadn’t gotten angry like that since I was a kid. My mom worked hard to get me the therapy I needed so I could express my emotions better, and I was kind of mad at myself for letting it happen. I put that out my mind after the fact, but seeing Chat yell at you like that the other day… I was afraid of getting akumatized again, even knowing that Miracle Queen was already out there. I was afraid that I was going to fail you after the fight.”

Dropping everything in the sink, she throws her arms around him and hugs him tightly. “I wouldn’t let you fall to Hawkmoth like that. I’d protect you, just like you’ve protected me.”

“Marinette-”

“The fact that you’re taking this seriously, and that you’re always helping me gives me hope. I mean, you, in general, give me hope. And you’ve done so well with Sass for the past few fights! I’ll admit, I’m scared of what’s about to come. After this ritual is over, we still have to figure out the connection between Gabriel Agreste and Hawkmoth, and get back the miraculouses. I don’t know how that’s going to work out, but… there’s one thing I’m sure of.”

Before he can ask what, she gently tilts his chin down toward her and kisses him. His hand comes to caress her cheek, so when they pull apart, they mirror each other.

“I’m happy I have you here with me.”

_ \--- _

It’s her third trip out to the temple, so Marinette isn’t entirely used to its grand size, nor its imposing sense of history, and can’t help but gawk a little bit en route to Fu. She finds so many little details of the temple that she didn’t notice on a prior trip, and is always surprised by what she finds.

What surprises her the most, though, is the fact that other than Fu, the place is entirely unoccupied. She would have thought that years of abandonment would have incited thieves to come and attempt to raid the place. But according to Fu, no one stepped foot inside the place between the time everyone left and the time they arrived. Even without magic, the place was rather difficult to get to, and the barriers enacted in the past left people with the impression that nothing was up there, and therefore, not worth exploring.

It’s a shame, because there’s something enthralling about entering such a place. Some of the walls have begun to crumble in disrepair, though Fu and Marianne have taken measures and placed planks and started small fires to keep the place warm. Part of the roof chipped, and since it was higher up, and they didn’t have a ladder, their solution for the time being was to cover it from the inside. The door, while in tact, had its surface tarnished by dark marks, and whenever it opened, it creaked as bad as nails on a chalkboard. She covered her ears every time upon hearing it, lest she want to screech.

Fu and Marianne wait for her in what used to be the kitchen. A black pot boils in the middle, heating up the room, and one glance over indicates that they’re finishing up the main course for the ritual. A black, circular table sits just to the left, decorated with white trays for ten people. The seats are plain, red cushions placed on the floor. 

She places the basket in the center, greeting Fu with a small bow.

"Everything should be ready now," she says, "I just need to gather everyone."

Fu nods, placing a cover over the pot. "We're lucky it's summer time and that no school obligations are in the way."

"Yeah, and everyone's in the city, but..."

"But?"

Biting her lip, she averts her gaze and sighs. "Rena is still grounded."

"That's true. While she should obey her parents in this case, we also can't afford to have her compromised if we decide to keep her."

The idea to include Rena and Carapace had been surprising at first, but considering the circumstances, logically sound. Two holders were already compromised, and while Alya and Nino had a ways to prove themselves trustworthy, if they were also revealed, they would lose any chance of taking their mantles back. Fu agreed with this logic, though both agreed to make the situation clear to both parties.

Neither Chloe nor Adrien would get such an invitation though. Chloe, besides the obvious reasons, didn't know much about the miraculouses and Guardians anyway. Adrien, on the other hand, knew enough to make him too risky to go after at this point, even if Marinette wanted to keep him around.

And she certainly didn't. After this, she would have nothing to do with him.

"Go on ahead, Marinette," Fu says, "The two of us can take care of everything here. Go ahead and get everyone."

\--

It's easier to gather up everyone else and save Alya for last. Everyone in Kitty Section isn't doing much until their recording session later, while Mylene is at home alone. Miraculously, even Nino is free until later in the day. 

Alya is sitting in her room, reading a book, head only popping up when Ladybug taps on the window.

"Hi again," she says quickly, "We have an emergency."

"Oh no, is it about Chat Noir?" Alya gasps, scrambling to put her book down, "I hear Chloe and that mysterious blue lady took his miraculous, but I didn't think... is it really true?" 

Though it was difficult to get decent footage of their fight, there were enough clips from reporters for people to start piecing things together. For one, footage of Chat Noir stopped coming in after a certain point. Then, there had been the sudden chase after Worker Bee. And lastly, they caught the tail end of the conversation Ladybug and Chloe had. 

Ladybug barely nods before Alya gasps yet again, "It's because of me. If I hadn’t posted that video-”

“Alya.”

“Chat never would have gotten the wrong impression! And then he would have no reason to-”

“Alya.”

“Act like he did! And  _ you  _ warned me about this, and  _ Marinette  _ warned me about this, and I chose not to listen! What kind of journalist-”

“ _ Alya _ .”

The rambling ceases, and for a moment, the two of them can only stare at each other, until Ladybug opens up the case revealing the Fox miraculous. “Listen. While I’m still keeping up on probation until the summer ends, I need to ask you to take the fox this one time and come with me. If you’re going to remain a part of this team, we’re going to have to perform a ceremony to protect you from Hawkmoth.”

The doubt fades, and for a moment, the curious, fanatic Alya returns, a thousand questions locked and loaded for her. “What kind of ceremony? What are you going to do? Are there other people going to be there?”

She rambles on and on, and Ladybug has to bite back a small laugh. Although Alya’s inquisitive nature often put the two of them at odds, she always liked Alya’s quest for knowledge. Alya’s burst of energy, in the right mood, could be enough to take her mind off of things and make her want to chase after her creative pursuits yet again.

Before she can even attempt to launch an explanation, however, the door creaks open, revealing a less than impressed Nora. “ _ Ladybug _ ? What are you-”

“Miss Cesaire, I’m sorry to intrude like this,” she says, “But I need to borrow your sister.”

“She’s _grounded_,” Nora points out, “For her blog about _you_ over her family, might I add.”

“I know, and I don’t want to overrule your authority here. But I  _ really  _ need Alya’s help and knowledge on this case. Nothing  _ dangerous _ , I promise, but after what happened two days ago, she’s one of the few people that can prevent further disaster.”

Nora closes her eyes and sighs, standing there for a long moment. She walks out of the room, making Ladybug wonder if that meant no, only for her to return with a phone.

“Take this with you. If there’s an emergency, you let me know  _ immediately _ . Don’t be longer than you have to, either, just because Mom and Dad aren’t coming home until later. And  _ don’t  _ be reckless.”

“Nora-”

“I’m still peeved about what you did,” she points out, “But I can’t say no to a hero in need. Don’t make me regret it, either  _ one  _ of you.”

She walks out the door and closes it behind her, not giving either one of them time to grant her a proper thank you. Not wanting to waste any more time, Ladybug gives Alya the necklace and allows her to transform, before teleporting her just outside the temple.

\---

With all of the holders settled inside the temple, and Ladybug slipping the horse miraculous to Fu, it’s only a few minutes longer before the ritual can begin. In the meantime, Marianne, now using the rabbit miraculous and going by Silver Hare, entertains everyone with stories of her work in the past. Rena especially is enthralled by her stories during the Second World War, but Ladybug is too distracted waiting for Master Fu to pay close enough attention.

“Greetings, everyone,” he says, entering the room. “I am the Guardian of the Miraculouses, although in my current form, you may call me Copper Horse. All of you have been gathered here today due to dire circumstances. As you know, two days ago, Chat Noir’s ring was stolen, and while his identity was revealed to only a select few, we have reason to believe that Hawkmoth may be among those who found out. Furthermore, since Hawkmoth has his ring, he is halfway to obtaining his goal.”

"Wait, that's really true?" Carapace interjects, "Woah, I thought that was just a rumor."

"It would appear that some of you are out of the loop concerning what happened. I will briefly recap what you missed, but if you have any further questions, please wait until the ritual is over."

As he explains the incident with Miracle Queen, Ladybug takes the time to gauge everyone's reactions. Rena and Carapace look at each other in horror, Rena biting back comments of her involvement, but just barely. Tigresse and Taureau attempt to avert everyone's gazes, while Princess and Mouseketeer quietly stand at their sides. It takes her a moment to realize that Viperion is at her side, offering the same silent support as the others. 

"So now you all know what's at stake," Copper concludes, "This ritual will help to keep a similar fate from befalling any of you, especially since some identities have been shared amongst your group. That could prove to be dangerous, if Hawkmoth was aware."

"So wait, what's going to happen to us during this ritual?" Princess asks, "Is it going to be scary?"

"No, nothing scary will be happening. If anything, today will be festive, if a bit serious," he explains, "We'll be sharing a meal together, created both by humans and kwamis."

"Wait, kwamis made this meal?" Rena asks, "How?"

"Simply put, all of your kwamis are capable of using their powers on their own. They aren't nearly as effective on their own as they are with a holder, but they can be used. They can also use a fraction of their power for potions or protective charms, like in this case."

"And how do they-"

"Let's save all those questions for the end," Copper suggests, "We don't want the food to get cold." 

He gestures everyone toward the table. Copper and Silver sit across from each other. Ladybug sits to his right, followed by Rena, Carapace and Mouseketeer. To Copper's left is Viperion, Tigresse, Princess and Taureau. All eyes fall on their plates, waiting for something to be said.

“Once we begin, I will require full concentration. Listen to what I have to say, and save all questions for after the final bite.”

After a small rumble of agreement, Copper takes out the basket of walnut bread, and passes it to his right, having each person take one loaf each. Going left is a platter of cheddar cheese, cut into small blocks, with each person taking a couple of blocks each. When everyone has their plates filled, Copper holds up a hand, gesturing for them to wait.

“Our appetizer is simple and light, to get ourselves ready to answer a question perhaps a bit more complicated. Who  _ are  _ you? What do you do and how does that define you? Does having the mask change you, and if so, how? Ponder these questions to yourself as you eat."

As expected, the cheese melts right in her mouth, and it pairs nicely with the walnut bread. With each bite, she recalls more and more the girl she started the last school year as; somewhat optimistic, but always anxious and just a bit fearful. If she asked herself last summer to stand up to Chloe, she would have had a panic attack on the spot.

But things are different now. She's stood up to Chloe countless times, developed a crush on someone she thought was a friend and learned to move on when things didn't work out, made new friends and stood her ground against them when needed, found a boyfriend who loved and trusted her, met and designed for major celebrities, and of course, became Ladybug.

What a year it had been. Despite the trials that they faced now, and how much it tore her up, she couldn't give in to regret now. Things were going to get better, even if she had to take matters into her own hands.

_ I am a force of nature. _

Her plate is entirely empty, and she places it into the middle, following Copper's lead. Soon enough, all of them pile up, and are removed by Silver, walking over to the boiling pot, and filling up red bowls.

Using two hands, each bowl is passed around the table until everyone has one sitting in front of them. With one look, Ladybug is able to determine that it's hot and sour soup. Initially, Fu wanted to make the feast more traditional, and implement entirely Chinese cuisine. But she didn't have enough to learn and master his recipes, and settled on food she knew how to make and could make quickly. It seems that this was a leftover from his initial plan, and she can't help but be curious about how it would turn out.

"This next course will fill you up with the energy you need to pursue the answers for the next question: what are your goals and dreams? And what is a common obstacle we all share that could manipulate or twist those dreams?"

That was the far easier question to answer. For as long as she remembered, Marinette wanted to share her art and creations with the world. Whether making new outfits and accessories, baking, or inventing items for everyday use she couldn't imagine herself doing anything else.

But ever since Hawkmoth first attacked the city, Marinette also wished for a sense of normalcy to return to Paris. To not have to worry about getting akumatized after getting a bad grade, or getting into a fight with a friend. To be able to come home tired from school and just want to scream into a pillow, or cry after a long day and not have to look over her shoulder in fear of an akuma.

_ I want to stop Hawkmoth and make Paris safe again. I want to live happily among my friends and family. And I want to Hawkmoth to be brought to justice. _

Just as promised, the soup is satisfying and nearly leaves her full. There’s a bit of kick to it that she doesn’t expect, but leaves her feeling a bit refreshed, as though she just went through a sauna. Soon enough, all of the red bowls are placed into the center of the table, while Silver passes out small blue plates with cut up mille-feuille.

“The last question we must contemplate today: how will these answers help the city at large? How can we help each other? And after we’ve stopped Hawkmoth, how do we continue with healing?”

She takes her time eating the mille-feuille, savoring its taste. It’s far easier than trying to answer the question. For the time being, making sure everyone was safe, that no other miraculouses fell into Hawkmoth’s hands, and stopping him were the go-to answers.

But in the long run? Other than what she’s done so far, she’s not sure what else she has to offer. Maybe she already did enough, or she’d be able to do more when she was older and really honed her skills. It was hard to say. If she didn’t have to handle everything on her own, then perhaps the solution would be a lot clearer.

_ Our creative talents and desire to see Hawkmoth brought to justice will keep us united. No one wants to see our city suffer anymore. _

With the mille-feuille finished, the blue plates pile up in the center of the table, everyone sitting and waiting to speak.

“The feast has finished. Now, considering everything that we’ve thought about, place your left hand over your wrist and repeat after me: I vow to uphold the secrets of the Guardians of the Miraculous. I use these powers for only their cause. Should I fail to keep this promise, I will forfeit all rights to their knowledge and power.”

Without fail, everyone recites the pledge, and a white glow overcomes all of their wrists, before fading away. Looking at it now, there doesn't appear to be any major changes, but Ladybug suspects that after powering down, she would see it on her arm.

“With that, the ritual is over. I shall now explain your new powers, so listen carefully.”

“Wait,  _ new  _ powers?” Rena asks, “Like we got a power-up?”

Princess chimes in, “Wow, already? I thought we had to use the miraculous for a long time to achieve those!”

“Er, not quite,” Copper says, “These aren’t powers to use when masked. In fact, you’ll only be able to use them as your civilian selves. They rely on a mark that all of us will share and that only we will be able to see.”

“Oh, cool,” Carapace comments, “I don’t think my mom would be happy if she thought I got a tattoo.”

Copper clears his throat, gesturing to everyone to quiet down so he could finish his explanation. “There are three powers this symbol will give you. One will allow you to erase the memories of those outside our ritual, so long as they pertain to the miraculouses and the Guardians. For example, if one of your identities were compromised, you’d be able to erase the memory of that.”

“Wait, so we have our own Nerualyzer?” Carapace asks, “Wow, that’s so cool, dude!”

Copper sighs. “Yes, it’s good that you’ll have something to clean up after you, but you  _ must  _ use this power, and the rest for that matter,  _ carefully  _ and with discretion. I know some of you will feel conflicted about having a mind-altering power, but unfortunately, it’s necessary in this case to keep our enemies from finding out about us. Anyway, to use it, you simply hold the mark up to your intended target and state which memory needs to be erased. When it’s activated, it’ll give off an orange glow.

“Your second power will grant you protection from both being akumatized or being affected by akumas’ powers. It requires the least amount of effort to activate. Anytime you get hit by either, it’ll phase right through you. It’ll be as though they never even came into contact. You’ll know it’s active when you see a green light.

“Your last power will create distractions. Supposing that someone is onto you, or trying to figure out information about the miraculous, you can use this to create a conveniently-timed distraction to throw them off your trail. This will give off a red light when active.”

While she’s not fond of the first power, there’s still a relief now having the mark with her. It’d make getting around her parents a lot easier and manageable, and, provided things went on for that long, allow her to continue juggling school and superhero duties. 

“That being said, I already have a mission in mind for all of you,” Copper sighs, “As Ladybug’s long-time partner, Chat Noir has information about me and the miraculouses that Hawkmoth will want, should he manage to get his hands on him. Since his identity has been compromised, and we have no way of determining  _ everyone  _ who is aware of it, we’ll instead have to alter his memories of us.”

Hushed whispers break out amongst the group. As Ladybug suspects, none of the temporary heroes managed to figure out just  _ who  _ was Chat Noir. To be fair, she had been the only hero to actually see Chat’s transformation undone, with Viperion only knowing because she told him. 

“But wait,” Rena points out, “Um, Mr. Guardian, sir,  _ we _ don’t know who Chat Noir is.”

He nods. “Yes. Now that you all have your mark, I suppose it’s safer to tell you. Chat Noir is someone you may all know - Adrien Agreste.”

Just as she suspected, the room breaks into collective gasping and jaw-dropping. Rena whispers something to Carapace, both of whom seem entirely thrown off by the revelation. Everyone else looks to each other, looking for some sort of clarification, as if they couldn't believe what they just heard.

“I realize that this is a lot to take in. But I must insist on speaking with you all in smaller groups for our mission objectives. Ladybug, Viperion, please come with me for a moment.”

\---

Ladybug is all too glad to leave the room. She has a feeling that when she returns, everyone will be bombarding her with questions, even if only as they stared at her without saying a single word. As they step outside, the chilly, mountain air overtakes her, and allows her to sigh in relief.

“Our conversation will be brief. Effective immediately, the two of you will now be partners,” Copper states, “Viperion, you may not have been with your miraculous for very long, but you’re in tune with your partner’s thoughts and feelings. You communicate quite well with each other, and you’ve worked well with Ladybug’s other chosen partners. I wish we’d have a bit more time to test you out, but this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to make a snap decision like this. I can only hope this one turns out better.”

Any sign of hesitation or worry from this morning is gone from Viperion’s eyes. Instead, he simply bows his head and says, “I won’t let either of you down.”

“Good. Now, I will call in our four new temporary heroes. This conversation shouldn’t take long either.”

Moments later, Copper returns with Princess, Tigresse, Taureau and Mouseketeer, all of whom look entranced by the outside of the temple. Had they had more time, Ladybug would have loved to give them a tour around the place, maybe explore it more herself.

“The four of you have done well to prove yourselves as assets to this team. While it’s still too early to promote you to full-time heroes, I will be testing and keeping an eye on all of you for your potential. Given the circumstances, we need all the help we can get.”

“Um, sir,” Tigresse offers up weakly, “Are you sure you’re okay with me? I mean, it’s my fault that Hawkmoth managed to get the cat miraculous.”

“That’s not true,” Taureau counters, “I only slowed you down, and couldn’t even manage to keep up with Worker Bee.”

He shakes his head. “The reason he got the miraculous was because of  _ Chat’s  _ decisions. All of you fought hard to get it back, and more importantly, from keeping Hawkmoth from getting any of the other miraculouses.”

“And for the record,” Ladybug adds, “I don’t blame any of you either. You’ve been nothing but helpful to me since I’ve asked for your help. Both Stage Fright and Beach Bum would have been difficult to manage without any of you.”

Tigresse blinks back tears, but is quick to accept Princess’ hug. Ladybug can’t help but smile at the sight - she hadn’t been able to comfort Juleka that night after the fight, lest she risk giving away her identity. She could breathe a bit easier now that Tigresse knew she wasn’t at fault.

“Based on how your next few battles go will determine how soon we end up promoting you,” Copper continues, “But please, do  _ not  _ stress yourselves out. Any help we get from you is helpful, and I realize that all of you have other obligations in your life right now. For now, simply do your best and please continue to support Ladybug and Viperion as you’ve been doing.”

The conversation ends without further comment, and Copper returns the four to the room, returning with Rena and Carapace, both of whom look a bit worried.

“Rena Rouge, Carapace. I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant to bring the both of you in after what happened with the Ladyblog, and Ladybug’s concerns. But since she thought you were both capable of changing, I decided to allow you here today. Both of you are here at  _ my  _ discretion.”

“R-Right, sir,” Carapace answers, nodding his head a bit too quickly. Rena doesn’t even both saying anything, only giving a quick nod herself.

“Please know that your powers  _ can  _ be revoked at any time, should you prove you aren’t trustworthy. We’re allowing you to have them so you can’t be compromised prior to us making our final decision about your role on this team. That being said, both of you will be tested by someone rather soon to help us make our final decision.”

“Of course,” Rena says, “Um, Mr. Guardian, if you don’t mind me, can I make a suggestion?”

He frowns. “What is it?”

“We’ve both been talking,” Carapace continues, “And we think that we ought to be the ones to erase Adr- er,  _ Chat’s  _ memories of the miraculous. Not to brag, but I’m his closest friend in his civilian life.”

“And it’s  _ my  _ fault that things escalated this far,” Rena says, “He wouldn’t have taken things to the extreme if I didn’t encourage him with that video. And Hawkmoth wouldn’t have gotten those ideas either. It’s  _ our  _ mess, we can at least help in cleaning it up.”

Copper still frowns, keeping his eyes shut, but there’s a small nod. “That  _ would  _ make the most amount of sense. You would have less difficulty getting close to him in your civilian form, and that puts less pressure on Ladybug.”

She averts her gaze at that comment. Was it that obvious she didn’t want to speak or be near him again? A gentle look from Viperion seems to confirm that question

“I approve of this plan,” Copper says, “As long as it’s alright with you, Ladybug.”

“Y-Yeah, that would be helpful,” she says, taking out her yo-yo to check the time, “Anyway, we can figure out the details of that together before we-”

A blinking exclamation point appears in the corner of her screen, with only the word “ _ Cattattack _ !” to give her any context. As she clicks the notification, a news report starring a confused Nadja Chamack pops on her screen.

“ _ Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news. Today, there have been reports of a strange woman running around Paris and destroying parts of the city, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Le Grand Paris. Furthermore, she was dressed up to a very familiar superhero that we all know and love.” _

The footage shows a woman, not too dissimilar to the blue woman, clearly transformed and using Cataclysm multiple times, while running throughout the city. Ladybug isn’t sure if there’s a pattern or link among all the areas that the woman targets, or if she’s generally causing chaos, but there’s no doubt in her mind that she’s the same agent that Hawkmoth sent out.

“ _ She hasn’t been spotted again within the last thirty minutes, but not too long after that, there have been reports of another cat-themed villain running amok. No one knows his identity either, but he was last spotted at the Agreste mansion.” _

The person in question dons all white, including a cat-shaped helmet and tail. His suit looks like something out of a sentai show, with black and gold running through out it to give it a bit more flair. The gold  _ SP  _ sits on the left side of his chest, but the most interesting part of his outfit are the white gloves and the gold ring that sits on his finger.

“Change in plans. It seems we’ll be meeting Adrien sooner than expected.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter commentary coming soon. But we'll be having another interlude before the next chapter, this time focusing on Gabriel/Hawkmoth.
> 
> And yes, as it was pretty obvious, Adrien *is* our latest akuma victim, but he won't be Chat Blanc. A while back, I wrote a prompt for him that used my own idea for his akuma form, Space Patrol. This time, his powers will be a bit different. I had this in mind before Chat Blanc aired, but from the little I saw of it (I'll admit, I wasn't interested in seeing it because I knew pretty much everything in it would be retconned by the end), I wasn't impressed.


	4. I Remember How Things Used to Be

"...yes, that great-grandson of mine sure is a mischievous one. I'll have to stay on my toes when he comes to Paris. He likes to poke his head into my research and-"

Ladybug barely hears the rest of Silver's story as the rest of them all gather back into the ceremony room. The intrigued faces of her new teammates quickly turns to confusion as Ladybug darts into the center of the room.

"There's an akuma active back home," she explains, "It also seems that Hawkmoth sent out an agent to use the cat miraculous. We need to stop both of them and recover the miraculous."

"As well as Chat Noir's power-ups," Copper adds, "He can't make them without the recipes, but we can't let him have access to that power. Furthermore, Ladybug, if your theory is correct and there's a connection between Hawkmoth and Mr. Agreste-"

"Wait, _ what _?" Both Carapace and Rena exclaim.

Copper continues, "Then this would be the perfect opportunity to check the mansion for clues. But be careful. There's no telling what anyone over there is willing to do."

"Of course, Master."

\---

After having Fu change back in private, and retrieving the horse miraculous, everyone gathers in an area just outside the Agreste Mansion, out of sight of any passerbys. They all crouch and squeeze in to check for any further news reports of the attack. It seems that so far, the new cat hasn't returned and has yet to be seen after the akuma first struck.

"Pst, Ladybug. There's something we've got to ask you," Rena whispers, gesturing to Carapace. Summoning Viperion, the four of them gather in a smaller circle, their backs turned to the rest of the group. "We want to be the ones to deal with Adrien's memories. We have the most to prove, and, uh, probably the best excuse for seeing him."

She doesn't miss Viperion's frown. While she gave him a heads up about making amends with Alya, her secret identity was still under wraps, at least until now, possibly. She was certain he’d tell her later after everything was settled with Space Patrol.

“We’ll have to create an opportunity then,” she hums, “You need to be in your civilian forms for it to work. But I might need your powers on the field, so let’s hold off on that until we can think of an opening. For now, let’s try and see what Space Patrol is up to.”

Using a nearby tree, Ladybug swings and hides in the top, overlooking the courtyard leading into the Agreste Mansion. For a moment, it’s empty. But then, a bunch of people pop up inside, looking around in confusion and amazement. Taking headcount, Ladybug realizes it’s mostly people from their class, minus Lila. Kagami is also there, looking more annoyed that she was taken away from what she was doing than anything.

"Hi, everyone."

The group looks around the area to see where the voice comes from. Even using the zoom function on her yoyo, Ladybug can't find a trace of the source. Just as she's about to give up, Space Patrol lands on the roof of the mansion, looking rather smug.

"It's been a while," he says, walking down the slope, "Summer vacation has been keeping us apart. But now that I control space, no amount of distance can do that."

"Adrikins?" Chloe gasps, "Is that really you?"

"Sorry, Chlo, but I don't go by that name anymore," he frowns, "My father might have chosen that name for me, but he won't get to decide anything else for me! I'm Space Patrol, and from now on, I call the shots!"

The crowd all look at each other, no one sure what to say or if they want to be the first to break the silence. Sure enough, Alix steps up and says, "That's great and all, but what does that have to do with you kidnapping us?"

"It's not kidnapping!" He objects, "We're going to hang out! The first time all summer! Everyone in class, all back together, plus my good friend from the fencing team!"

It's difficult to tell from her angle, but Ladybug catches Kagami being miffed by this comment. She can't exactly blame her - Adrien told her that Kagami was the prettiest, most wonderful girl he ever saw. But looking back at that day, that had been sometime after Ladybug rejected Chat again. Perhaps Adrien was just using Kagami as means to move on?

She shakes the thought from her mind. That's something she doesn't want to touch with a ten foot pole, and even if she did, now was not the time to figure it out.

"Um, are you sure about that?" Sabrina asks, her voice barely above a whisper, "Cause Chloe has an appointment at the salon, and I don't think everyone is here anyway."

"Yeah, like half the class is missing," Alix points out, "You can't drag us out of what we were doing and then expect us to be okay with a 'reunion' with like, five other people."

Other complaints start to crop up - Kim's date with Ondine was interrupted, Max was working on a character for his video game, Nathaniel was developing artwork for his story with Marc, and so forth. 

It doesn't surprise her when Space Patrol completely loses it and yells, "Enough! I make the rules now, so if you want to leave, you have to meet the requirements made at the gate! I'll see you all inside!"

She keeps her eyes on the area for a few more minutes. Judging by their difficulty opening the door, there appears to be some sort of problem with getting it open, until they read a sign.

"Perform a cool dance routine?" Kim asks, "Sounds awesome!"

"Yeah," Alix snorts, "Except for the fact that none of you know how to choreograph."

Frowning, Ladybug drops from the tree and back down below, ready to inform everyone of the information she's gathered.

"So he's acting through RPG logic?" Carapace asks.

"What makes you say that?" Princess inquires.

“Uh, well, it just kind of reminded me of those annoying obstacles in video games,” he says, scratching the back of his neck, “Like when they don’t want you to get to a certain area right away, so they have a drunk old guy block the road and then have his granddaughter claim that he ‘hasn’t had his coffee yet.’”

“Oh, yeah, that’s the worst!”

“Going by that logic, that means we’d have to fulfill some sort of objective in order to make it through the obstacle.. Of course, knowing him, he wouldn’t want all of us getting inside,” Ladybug ponders, looking over to Viperion, “So we might just have to break a few rules.”

\--

It’s difficult not having Chat’s night vision or a spare screen to analyze the weakest point of the mansion. But she makes the most of her yoyo and pinpoints the least guarded area of the mansion - the windows at the very back of the property. After dropping them into the back of the courtyard, Ladybug has everyone join hands in a human chain link, ready for Taureau to charge in.

Bursting through the window, they rush into the foyer, knocking down a confused Gorilla and dashing up the stairs, just outside of Adrien’s room. 

"Mouseketeer, go now!"

She divides herself into a dozen copies. They have quite a bit of ground to cover, so they split up among the groups that Ladybug assigns, with the remaining few staying with her.

"Taureau, stay with me and Viperion," she insists, "Rena, Carapace, check out Adrien's bedroom for any signs of Space Patrol. Tigresse, be ready to track him. Princess, keep an eye on what's going on downstairs, and see if you find Gabriel Agreste or his secretary. Maybe he can explain a few things." 

Minutes pass, and they find nothing. While Rena and Carapace are able to get to the door to Adrien’s bedroom, Space Patrol waits in there, and she doesn’t want the two of them facing off with him by themselves.They do manage to tell her that there’s no special restrictions for getting into his room, though it seems more intended for those who pass his challenge.

There's a tugging at her sleeve, with one of the Mouseketeers desperately pointing down the hall. They open the door to what appears to be a security room, with several screens showing areas of the mansion. In the foyer are the members of Bustier's class, trying to make their way past the Gorilla. Space Patrol sits in his room, setting a few things up for a party. The rest of the house is suspiciously empty, with no signs of Gabriel or Nathalie in sight.

“This doesn’t feel right,” she frowns, “Let’s see if maybe Space Patrol abducted them or if they ran off somewhere.”

Checking the tapes, they rewind back to the time when the new cat holder first appeared. The rest of the house looks normal, with a glum Adrien sitting in his room, watching TV. However, one camera in particular looks rather off.

Gabriel's office has footage, just prior to the attack, of him sitting in his office when his secretary comes in. There are a couple of times when he looks in a particular direction in the room, as if talking to someone else. Not too long after, the footage glitches and both Gabriel and his secretary are gone. The room had been empty from that point up until now.

"That's weird," Ladybug hums, "Let me just get a copy of this."

She syncs her yoyo to the screen and makes sure to get as much of the footage as possible. Gabriel was going to need an airtight alibi to explain this.

"Wait, this was before Space Patrol attacked?" Mouseketeer asks, "So wouldn't that just mean that they were kidnapped?"

"No. This is way before Space Patrol was spotted, and closer to when the new cat holder was reported destroying parts of the city," Ladybug points out, "This is too convenient. We should investigate his-"

She doesn't have enough time to respond before the door swings open, revealing Space Patrol, and she curses her luck. She had been so busy trying to get the recording, she took her eye off the camera monitoring Space Patrol. Thankfully, Rena is ahead of the curb, creating a mirage of Viperion.

Considering the look Space Patrol has in his eyes looking at the real Viperion, it's all the more necessary.

"_ You _," he hisses, "You ruined everything!"

Pulling Viperion out of the room, she urges the fake to run back to distract Space Patrol. Meanwhile, Carapace calls upon his Shellter, having them all gather underneath it as they meet back up. All of the Mouseketeers join back together, leading to four miraculouses giving off warning beeps that the timers are about to run out.

"This isn't good," she frowns, "New plan. Viperion, Princess and Tigresse, wait inside Adrien's room for my cue. Everyone else, come with me."

Once again, the group breaks up. Ladybug further divides the group, taking Taureau and Mouseketeer on one side of a statue and covers them as they detransform. Thankfully, it's at an angle the camera can't capture. Still, she has them summon their distortion power, causing the camera to glitch long enough for them to return the miraculouses and run out of the mansion.

Rena and Carapace are next to change back, but Alya and Nino won't be going anywhere. Activating their distortion, they follow Ladybug back up to Adrien's room. 

"Wait here," she gestures to the two of them, "Ask him to open up to you long enough for us to find his object. When everything's been fixed, that's when you have to erase his memories."

She summons her Lucky Charm, when a flash of white light surrounds her. Her costume is no longer a simple bodysuit. The midsection is now a black chest plate, with matching shoulder padded armor, gloves and boots. The sleeves and leggings keep the traditional Ladybug print, though with not as many polka dots. 

“Woah,” Alya gasps, “Ladybug, you-”

“It must be the upgrade the Guardian was talking about,” she says, “This is good. It might buy us more time.”

Moments after admiring the new look, the object appears in her hands - a copy of Ultimate Mecha Strike III.

"Heh, he won't be able to resist a round," Nino says, "Leave it to me, Ladydude."

Ladybug enters the room, hiding in the corner with Viperion. She double checks him to make sure that there isn't a single scratch on him, and to her relief, there isn't. If Space Patrol thinks that he's going to beat him up, he had another thing coming, and Ladybug would not let him forget it.

Nino and Alya enter the room, just behind Space Patrol, who happily chats about his room and newfound freedom.

"...and we can have as many parties as you want, Nino! We have to make up for lost time, after all," he says, plopping himself down on the couch, "I just wish that everyone else was here. What's the point of having all this stuff if you can't share it with anyone?"

"I'm sure they'll come up," Alya insists, looking to Nino, "Just give them some time."

"Yeah, some of them," he pouts, "Of course Chloe came with Sabrina, and Alix, Max and Kim came with Nathaniel, but everyone else is missing." He pauses, his gaze lingering over the two of them. "Hey, maybe you two could contact Marinette? She's close with Kitty Section, and Mylene will come if Ivan does!"

Alya bites her lip, looking away. "Um, Adrien, me and Mari haven't been on speaking terms since the summer started. I don't think she exactly wants to be around me right now."

"So she still hasn't apologized to you?"

She's glad Viperion is there next to her, helping her fight the urge to storm over there and wring his neck. Had he always thought so little of her? First, _ she’s _in the wrong for not wanting Chloe around, then he guilt trips her into staying silent about Lila, and now this?

"I'm the one that owes her an apology," Alya points out, crossing her arms over her chest, "And while I don't like it, I can't force her to talk to me. That's not how friendship works, Adrien."

His eyes glow. "It's _ Space Patrol _. And that's unacceptable. If she won't see you, I'll just have to make her see reason. The two of you can't keep feuding just because of me."

She blinks, looking to Viperion to mentally ask if she just heard what he said correctly. When he gives only a small nod, she gapes.

It seems Alya has the same thought in mind, slowly asking, "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, he looks guilty. "Forget I said anything."

"Dude," Nino says, reaching for his shoulder, "Please tell us."

Space Patrol shuffles his feet, looking about the room awkwardly. "I heard the conversation you and Marinette had that one day at the wax museum. Where you wanted her to tell me how she felt?"

It's dead silent in the room, and Ladybug doesn't have the courage to check for everyone's reactions. Viperion was well aware of what was said, and bringing it back up was a sure fire way to invoke his anger.

"I pretended to be a statue to play a prank on her, and cheer her up. I thought maybe she was mad at us or just needed to we were still friends, which is how I saw the two of you talking.” he continues, completely unaware of his friends' expressions, "I wish you could have convinced her. I could have cleared the air with her then, and she wouldn't have yelled at me back at Summer Sesh. It just sucks knowing that everything is awkward because of that, but having to pretend that I don't know."

Alya's expression is flushed with rage, but it's Nino that's the first to say something. "That's pretty messed up, dude. It's neither Alya nor Marinette's fault you found out the way you did.”

"Nino, come on! Have your bro's back here!"

"Dude, as your bro, I'm obligated to tell you that you're not the victim here," he argues, "No one made you do that prank. You chose to do that. Which is already messed up, when you could have just talked to Marinette about her feelings. And honestly? You deserved to get yelled at by her at Summer Sesh for what you said. It's not your business and she didn't ask for your opinion. Girls don't like when guys are pushy."

As glad as she is to hear those words from Nino, Space Patrol isn't, and he looks ready to banish him from the room. They need to act quickly before-

"Guys, let's just forget it. We can get this party started without the rest of them," Alya insists, "Nino, what about that game you brought?"

Space Patrol doesn't look convinced, still pouting and shooting Nino dirty looks. Still, he can't object when Alya pops in the game into his system, and hands the boys the controllers.

This allows them to finally put their plan into play. Both Viperion and Princess get close to Space Patrol, with Tigresse activating Stealth Mode in case he got any ideas. The match is heating up, with Space Patrol clearly losing and not happy about it.

"Hey, stop cheating man!"

"It's not cheating if I'm just better than you at the game!"

"Ugh, I don't want to play anymore!"

"Dude, you need to chill out, maybe take a nap."

Viperion stands up, and says, "I was just thinking the same thing."

Tigresse leaps into action, sneaking behind him and pinning his arms behind his back. Space Patrol makes the mistake of meeting Viperion's gaze, falling victim to Snake Eyes. Princess takes the opportunity to tag him with Mud Bomb, but no highlighted object appears on him. Panicking, Ladybug's eyes dart about the room. Perhaps he hid it, or it wasn’t even around them?

"Over here!" Alya says, picking up a framed photo and tossing it on the floor. Ladybug is quick to capture the akuma and release the healing, with a dazed and confused Adrien on the floor. She's quick to grab Viperion and the girls and duck out of sight.

"Nino? Alya?" He asks, "What are you two doing here?"

"You got akumatized and you had us come to cheer you up," Alya says quickly, looking to Nino, "In fact, you asked Nino to show you his new trick."

"New trick?"

Laughing nervously, Nino holds up his tattoo, "Yeah, just look right here, dude."

"Is your arm glowing orange?"

The flash goes off, leaving Adrien temporarily dazed. Nino takes the opportunity to check his pockets, finding a carton of colorful cheese that she can only assume are the power-ups. After tossing them over to Ladybug, Nino says, "You've never met the Guardian of the Miraculouses. You don't know his face or name and you have no clue what he knows."

The two of them run over to Ladybug and Viperion, who help the two of them out of the mansion, and back to their respective houses. Upon retrieving Rose and Juleka’s miraculouses, she and Viperion stop near the bakery, transforming back. Luka goes to hand her the snake back, but she stops him.

“You’re my partner now. It’s yours to keep.”

Laughing nervously, he puts it back on. Strangely, he tries to cover up his face, but the slightest tinge of pink on his cheeks doesn’t escape Marinette’s notice. “Yeah, I forgot about that. I can’t really believe… But forget that! Your costume upgrade looks really cool, Marinette!”

“Thanks, Luka. It seems I need to find Master Fu and let him know that he was right. And uh, return these,” she says, holding up the box.

\---

Her conversation with Fu recapping the events is mercifully short. She’s not devastated as she was before, but part of her just wants to go home and pass out in bed, forgetting the rest of the world. Still, it’s important that she get the power-ups back to Fu and allow him to decide their fate, as well as get Marianne back to her apartment. Calling upon Kaalki once again, Marinette brings the two of them to the door. She’s ready to leave, when Marianne gently pats her shoulder.

“Hey, Marinette, I know I wasn’t trained as a Guardian like Fu was,” Marianne says quietly, “But I’ll help you to the best of my abilities. You’ll be able to visit me here as much as you need, and I’ve been making arrangements to work with Rena Rouge and Carapace.”

“They really pulled their weight in this mission,” Marinette says, “I think things are starting to look up in that respect. But we still have to deal with the new cat holder and the footage we have of Gabriel Agreste’s office.”

“Fu is working on examining those files on his tablet. For now, why don’t you go and get some rest?” 

Marinette isn't sure how she has the energy to go to the studio after all of that, but she doesn't regret going. Other than hushed gossiping among Jagged, Penny and Ruby, pretty much no one else at the studio mentions the incident with Space Patrol, and continues on like nothing had happened. Perhaps they are just saving the real conversation for later, but nonetheless, Marinette is thankful for it.

They all settle in the main lobby, waiting for a "special guest" as Jagged put it. At first, Marinette thinks it's a delivery guy, who brings in a package that the manager is all too happy to receive. He doesn't hesitate to tear off the tape and hold up the contents like it was baby Simba, leaving Penny to sign for it.

"Hey, hey, Marinette, check this out," he says, "It's really cool, I swear!"

Getting a closer look, Marinette sees that he's holding some sort of mini recording devices, no bigger than a coin. Taking out his phone, he shows her an app called "Surveillance Stuff".

"A while back, your friends told me you had a problem with some girls stealing your stuff and making you look bad," he explains, "So I pulled a few strings, and a friend managed to get me this product meant to be used in lockers and personal storage areas! I've had some weird fans steal my favorite guitar picks and stuff because security was lacking. Figure our best designer is going to need some extra measures to take when it comes to protecting her work."

“Oh, Jagged, you didn’t have to do that,” she says, admiring the packaging, “Thank you.”

“Not a problem! I can’t have anyone messing with our head designer.”

“Well, then I’ll have to get to designing something to make these blend in,” she hums, “Something to make them inconspicuous.”

“Oh, but that’s not all that I have planned for today,” Jagged says, “Penny, have our guests arrived yet?”

“We just made it.”

Waiting at the door are Aurore, Mirielle, Colette and Vivica, all excitedly taking in the sight of the lobby. 

“Ah, here we are,” Jagged says, “Everyone, let’s give a rock’n’roll welcome to our latest star, Vivica!”

“It’s great to be here, Jagged,” she says, “And I’m glad to see all of you again! I didn’t think I’d see you all so soon after Summer Sesh!”

Ruby is the one to walk over and give Vivica a hug, although Marinette doesn’t miss her cheeks turning red. The two of them happily chat about what they’ve been up to, as the other three girls join Kitty Section near the couch.

“Ugh, Marinette,” Aurore pouts, “I haven’t seen you since that whole fiasco with Chloe. Are you still down to go shopping with me at some point?”

“Oh, of course,” she says, “For your audition, right?”

“That, and if I’m going to be an entertainer, I need to keep up with the latest styles!”

“You could always steal some of Luka’s vests,” Juleka teases, “Some of them are still new and haven’t been worn yet.”

“You’re a vest guy?” Aurore asks.

“It’s a long story,” he insists, rubbing the back of his neck, “I don’t want to bore you with the details.”

“He had a crush on Justin Timberlake when he was like, five, and wanted to dress just like him,” Juleka explains.

“_ Jules _!” he sighs, playfully swatting at his sister’s shoulder, “That’s it, we’re settling this once and for all!”

Marinette can’t help but giggle at their exchange, especially as the siblings continue to fake trading blows with one another. It’s mostly nice just to see Juleka in a better mood after seeing her worry so much. 

“Alright, everyone,” Jagged says, breaking the siblings up, “How about we give our new star here a tour of the studio?”

\--

The evening is still young. The sun is only just starting to set, with a small splotch of orange dotting the sky. With Rose and Juleka still out, and Anarka working a night shift, that leaves the two of them alone on the deck of the houseboat, allowing them to admire the sight in relative silence.

“You want to know something silly?” he asks, drumming his fingers on an old stereo, “I had this dream once when I was seven of dancing in the sunset. There was someone else there with me, but I could never tell who it was. But it always stuck with me.”

She smiles. “Do you want me to dance with you?”

“Yeah. That’d be nice.”

After taking a moment to select a song, he takes her hand into his, placing the other on her waist. Her hand rests on his shoulder, and the two of them sway to the soft beats of the song. Eventually, they’re dancing a little closer to each other, with Marinette resting her head against him. It’s easy to remain like this, and temporarily forget about her problems. 

She’s done sparing thoughts on Adrien. She would speak with Alya soon enough. Hawkmoth and the stolen miraculous could wait. _ Everything _could wait.

All she wanted was to remain peaceful like this for a little bit longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Commentary to come. But thank god, it's finally here.

**Author's Note:**

> With the end of Season 3, comes the beginning of all the laughs.
> 
> ...Get it? 
> 
> Actually, the real reason I chose the title was to capture that nostalgic, happy feel both we and the characters had about Team Miraculous, once upon a time. However, things have changed too much, and they're only about to get worse.
> 
> I'm going to go in more depth in another post about Alya (because I have an ask on Tumblr), but the short explanation: despite some of Alya's more... terrible decisions in this AU, I *did* want her to eventually make a comeback. She still has a ways to go, but considering what's about to go down, now felt like the time to solidify this decision.


End file.
